The leading voice for the crushed stone, ready mixed concrete, sand and gravel, and cement industries' community.
PELA is a 10-month hybrid program with online and in-person educational sessions and networking opportunities.
Careers in the Aggregates, Concrete & Cement Industries
The Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA) is the industry’s unified voice, representing more than 200 member companies across the state.
Creating a unified and strong voice for our industry.
PACA monitors and analyzes local, state and federal regulations and advocates for a balanced approach by the regulators.
PACA builds a bridge between our members and our partners at PennDOT, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission along with Pennsylvania’s construction industry to further the use of our materials to the benefit of the commonwealth.
One of the most effective tools in government relations for an industry is a robust advocacy/grassroots strategy.
In the last legislative session, we contributed over $275,000 to our political champions.
November 2025 at Hotel Hershey in Hershey, PA (PACA members only event).
PACA offers comprehensive concrete certification programs for ACI, NRMCA, and PennDOT in the central Pennsylvania area.
Membership has its privileges - most of PACA's events are open to PACA members only.
PACA conducts numerous education and training events during the year.
Choose concrete for your next parking lot project.
Streets built with concrete are built to last, consider concrete for your next project.
Concrete's strong, resilient and the choice for your next building or bridge.
PACA works with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) to convert your parking lot or building project to concrete without hurting your bottom line.
PACA drives a member-approved strategic plan to increase market share and engages specifiers and owners on the value of concrete in their projects.
This program provides free continuing education to the design and specifying communities. There are currently four courses available, ranging from 30 minutes to 60 minutes focused on the cement, aggregates and concrete industries. You'll receive a certificate of completion once you pass a quiz. The bookmarking feature allows you to leave the course and resume where you left off when you return.
What are the prospects for global cement demand in the near term? Following a post-Covid surge, emerging trends conspire to reduce cement demand.
Limited residential real estate sales and construction is a key. In 2021, four-fifths of the increase in U.S. cement demand came from the residential side. View the most recent PCA forecast here.
The housing market is in the throes of a perfect storm of higher mortgage rates and low inventory. Homeowners with sub-4% mortgages have little desire to sell, only to turn around and tackle rates in the 7-8% range. Higher rates also threaten to upend the commercial real estate (CRE) market.
When the average 30-year mortgage hit 7% in November 2022, it was the highest in 20 years. Reductions in the Federal Funds Rate will have to wait until late 2023, if then. Inflation persists despite repeated rate hikes. Extra savings accumulated during the pandemic are one cause. Multiple Economic Impact Payments were one cause.
In 2023, new home construction is enduring a double-digit decrease. Home builder confidence has declined for 11 months straight. Ironically, lumber prices are no longer an obstacle for wood-frame builders. Prices generally remain below $500/MBF. However, inflation and mortgage rates conspire to disqualify many prospective buyers.
The dichotomy between single family and multifamily housing is stark. Analysts see a big drop in single family housing starts in 2023, followed by stabilization in 2024. At the same time, more multifamily units under construction than since 1974.
According to Redfin, 32% of homeowners either have no mortgage or a sub-4% rate. Many of these well-positioned homeowners secured low-interest mortgages on rapidly appreciating assets. Even if they must move for work, they are increasingly likely to keep these properties and rent them out. In a downturn, they will sustain paper losses only.
The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) estimates that 18 million U.S. households have been priced out of the market. In 2022, the median price for a new single-family home was $450,000. At that level, the difference between a 3% and a 7% mortgage is $1,000 per month.
In the current housing market, some who must move will choose to rent, rather than to sell their homes. Many current homeowners are staying put with their 3-4% mortgages. Either interest rates must fall back to sub-5 levels, or we have to build our way out of the problem.
Edward Sullivan is Chief Economist and Senior VP of Market Intelligence at the Portland Cement Association (PCA). He says, “In the context of net operating conditions expected for 2023, nonresidential construction will likely add to the declines originating from the residential sector.”
Deloitte interviewed 450 CFOs of CRE investor and developer firms. Forty percent expected increasing revenues, 12% see no change, and 48% foresee lower revenues. Compare this to 2022 when 80% expected increased revenues.
There are numerous factors in play here. Developers are reluctant to advance projects until it’s clearer how permanent the work-from-home movement will be. Workers resist calls to return to the office. At many companies, the hybrid workweek may be here to stay, softening demand for office space in the process.
Office vacancies are far higher than in the retail and industrial sectors. According to analysis from Cushman & Wakefield, nationwide office vacancies are at 18.6%. Compare this to a retail vacancy rate of 5.6% and an industrial vacancy rate of 3.6%.
In residential real estate, 30-year fixed rate mortgages are the norm. However, as one lending site notes, “the rates for commercial mortgages and CRE loans often fluctuate.” When the Fed raises the benchmark federal funds rate, CRE quickly feels the effects. On May 3, 2023, the rate hit a 16-year high.
Investors and developers who financed purchases during an era of exceedingly low rates now face jarring increases in debt service costs. Some projects deemed viable when rates were low are anything but as rates soar.
The post-Covid economy has been beset by inflation. In fact, rates hit a 40-year high in June 2022. Fuel prices have increased, especially diesel. Supply chain issues remain, due in part to pandemic disruptions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index predicts nonresidential construction spending 9-12 months into the future. An ABI greater than 50 reflects a net increase in billings. In late 2022, the ABI dropped down into the 40s.
Housing is one of the most interest-rate-sensitive sectors of the American economy. Morningstar projects a “year-end 2023 federal-funds rate of 4.75%, falling to about 2.00% by the end of 2024.” Morningstar also projects that “the Fed will overshoot its goal with inflation averaging 1.9% over 2023-27.” The investment research firm sees a 30-40% chance of a short-lived recession, should one occur.
Things look better for late 2023 into 2024 when the impact of the infrastructure bill H.R. 3684 is more keenly felt. The 1,039-page bill was signed into law on November 15, 2021.
The IIJA provides funding for many projects benefiting the concrete industry. These include:
Roads, bridges, and major projects
Passenger and freight rail
Ports and waterways
Airports
In the next five years, the American Subcontractors Association estimates a $550 billion expenditure Ken Simonson is the chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA). He says, “I expect a big pickup in 2023 in infrastructure investment as money from the IIJA starts to be awarded and contractors get to work on those projects.”
Overall, the Portland Cement Association (PCA) sees a modest recovery in 2024. Still, there is much to overcome. Some material prices have increased by double-digit percentages. IIJA funds will flow in 2024, but construction labor shortages may intensify in response.
The Pennsylvania Aggregate and Concrete Association (PACA) follows innovations in the concrete industry. Should you have questions about your upcoming project, please contact our team.
February 22, 2024
Proficient carbon calculations are increasingly important as “Buy Clean” legislation proliferates. New York and Colorado are among the states that now require carbon calcs for public projects. An estimated 40% of emissions are from the built environment. According to one estimate, the planet’s total building floor area will double by 2060. This makes the concrete industry a key player in the quest for net-zero emissions products and projects.
February 15, 2024
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) notes that cement production is “so carbon intensive that even though cement makes up less than 15% of concrete by weight, it accounts for 90% of concrete’s carbon footprint.” The use of fossil fuels to fire cement kilns is a key source of these carbon emissions.
February 08, 2024
In the quest for reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, everyone has a role to play. In the concrete industry, this includes everyone from manufacturers to contractors, and from trade associations to governments. Here is a review of some of the major initiatives impacting concrete’s sustainability.
February 01, 2024
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) requires high-temperature calcination of limestone. It is possible to use various emissions-reducing pozzolans in concrete. Fly ash comes from coal-fired power plants. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) comes from steel mills. Another SCM is metakaolin derived from kaolin.
The program is delivered in one (1) module and it should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You will receive a certificate of completion once you pass the quiz. The bookmarking feature will allow you to leave the course and resume where you left off when you return.